Turning Point
by Carpathian Rose
Summary: Kouga didn't know why he did it. When he found Kagome unconscious at the bottom of that confounded well, and she woke in his arms with no memory of certain aspects of her life, the only thing that came to his lips when she asked who he was..."Your Mate."
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

"_I mean it, Inuyasha." Kagome said, her eyes narrowed as she waved Inuyasha away. She was not in the mood for this. "Don't you dare come through that Well." She said, glaring at Inuyasha._

_By God, she was lucky to have Graduated High-School. Inuyasha didn't seem to understand just how important that was. Okay, so she wasn't in school no more. She was no longer busy. She could stay here day and night, for months on end and look for the remaining Jewel shards until they found them._

_That was Inuyasha's logic._

_Logic her ass._

_She needed a BREAK. She was tired, she wanted a real bed and a cheese burger and some FRIES were actually sounding good. She needed a break from HERE. And a certain half-demon._

_They'd defeated Naraku, so that big problem was out of the way. After THAT battle, hell yes she needed a break. And she really, really needed to go back...Because she knew once the completed the Jewel, she was going to stay here. She belonged here and this was where she wanted, felt, she needed to be. Her family had to know that. _

_She needed that time with her family. One last time._

"_I don't give a damn." Inuyasha called out from somewhere behind her and then she heard his footsteps._

"_Sit." _

_She really hated doing that. She turned halfway and watched as the Rosary around Inuyasha's neck flared to life, jerking him face down to the ground. She wouldn't have had to do that if he'd just be a little more understanding. She cared about the fool. _

_She hopped onto the edge of the well and hooked her legs over. "One week, Inuyasha." She warned before she jumped down into the darkness._


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

She'd lied. Well, not completely. So what if today made it eight days? She had needed a break. Maybe from Inuyasha himself. She wasn't looking forward to facing Inuyasha when she jumped back into that well. She was surprised that he hadn't come for her already.

She was just...she'd had to think long and hard. There was only one problem.

She couldn't take much more of being the "other woman". That was the only way she could think to phrase it. Kikyou was alive. Flesh and blood alive. She was alive and there was nothing to keep Inuyasha from making a decision. Was she wrong for wanting him to CHOOSE? Inuyasha cared for her, she knew he did. Was she so wrong in wanting him all to herself?

She moved away from the window sill. "Okay, Inuyasha." She whispered. "I'm coming back."

It wouldn't hurt so bad, if he did choose Kikyou over her. She'd waited so long for him to do something, anything, and he hadn't. Again, she'd had to think. She cared about Inuyasha and she always would. She cared about him just enough. JUST enough to make him choose.

She'd already said goodbye to her Mother and Souta. She'd stopped by the old Cemetery where her Grandfather was buried.

Stepping into the Well House, she stopped and turned, looking out into the Shrine yard that she had once called Home. Whether or not she had her happy ending, her place was in the Feudal Era. Swinging one leg over the edge of the well and saying a silent goodbye, she jumped.

She was surrounded by that familiar weightlessness. Light filtered around her and then her feet were touching the ground again. Hearing the chirp of birds and seeing a dark, cloudy sky overhead, she knew she was Home. Her new Home.

Dammit, did being impatient make her a bad person? For coming to the decision that he HAD to make a choice? "No, you're not a bad person." She muttered to herself. She didn't deserve to be one of two loves. She wanted to be a one and only kinda love.

"Four years, Inuyasha." She said as she reached up, going on her tip toes. She hated this part, she had to admit. Sometimes she was just a little too short to reach the vines. She snagged one of the thick vines. Climbing up out of this thing wasn't exactly easy.

She braced one foot against the inner wall of the well and pulled herself up. In the distance she hear a loud clap of thunder and smiled. She loved thunderstorms. It was a little chilly, but she'd endure and in her mood, she was actually looking forward to the down pour.

She was halfway up when she grabbed the next vine and felt three sharp thorns dig into her palm. She jerked her hand back instinctively and the move caused the vine she was holding onto with the other hand to snap apart. She reached out, her hand sliding over the wall but she couldn't get a good grasp before she was falling. The ground was hard and when she hit, the back of her head bounced off the hard packed dirt. Stars burst behind her eyes and she blinked, groaning. She could feel the darkness pulling her down, unconscious, just before she felt the first drop of rain on her skin.

* * *

><p>"Looks like rain."<p>

Kouga lifted his head towards the dark sky and nodded. Hakku always stated the obvious. It definitely looked and smelled like rain. He took off down the hill, the muscles in his thighs going hard. He was so fast that no human would see him except for the dust trail he always left behind. And that was without the Jewel shards.

The other two didn't have to ask where he was going. Whenever he was in this area and the Bone Eater's Well, he only thought about one thing. Kagome. She always seemed to be near that Well. He'd be damned if he missed a chance to see her. Screw what dog shit said.

He jumped over a fallen log, never slowing, the corner of his eye catching the Well across the fields. He stopped then and lifted his head, sniffing. His nose twitched, a strange look coming across his face. Hakku and Ginta nearly slammed into his back at the sudden stop.

"Ugh, Kouga, what—"

Her scent tickled his nose. Dimmed by the light drizzle of rain, but she was definitely here. He whipped his head toward the Well and took off across the field. He never fully understood why she went into the Well. Something about her world being on the other side. That just didn't make sense.

He reached the well and leaned over, staring down into the darkness as the rain started to pelt his back. Not hard, but enough for him to feel it.

He didn't see anything but darkness.

"Kagome?" Kouga called out, his fingers curling around the worn edges of the Well. He inhaled and her scent rose up again. Yea, she was down there alright.

"She's down there?" Ginta questioned a little disbelievingly.

"Yea." Kouga stared down into the ink black darkness. "Kagome—" He started before his nostrils flared. His blue eyes hardened, his pupils dilating and then he threw himself over the edge of the Well without a word. Darkness enveloped him, as did her scent. Warm, familiar and luscious. And the scent of her blood.

His feet hit the ground with little to no sound and he crouched down. He dropped to his knees beside Kagome's prone form. He could hear the sound of her heart, steady, so he knew she wasn't dead. But he could smell her blood. Where the hell was Dog Shit?

His eyes narrowed as he lifted her limp body in his arms and saw the small trail of blood at her forehead. His woman was unconscious, not even registering the movement as he jumped upward and out of the Well.

"What happened?" Hakku asked.

"I don't know." Kouga was furious. Every time he saw Kagome, she was hurt. Either she had a bruise, or a cut or something more serious. She trusted that piece of shit Inuyasha with her life but she was in constant danger. Even after Naraku was dead.

"Kagome?" If it hadn't been for the bruise forming across her temple, he would have shaken her awake. He cursed silently and slid an arm beneath her shoulders and the other beneath her knees and lifted her again.

"You taking her to Inuyasha?"

Kouga scoffed at that. "Not likely." He turned in the complete opposite direction he knew Inuyasha would be in. "Dog shit can come and get her." Kagome wouldn't be too happy when she woke up, but hey, he lived to hear her every word, even if she was scolding him. Besides, Kagome never held a grudge for very long.

He barely felt the rain as it started to pelt his skin but he hunched over her body as he started a full out run. How the hell could Inuyasha allow this kind of shit to happen to Kagome? Dammit, dog shit should cherish her. If Kagome were HIS, she'd never be in the position that he had found her in. He'd be damned if he ever put her in any kind of danger.

Kagome didn't know it yet, but she was his Mate. He didn't want anyone else.

He was careful of the precious burden in his arms as he jumped over the fallen log he'd came across before, a wry grin coming across his lips. He realized something. Dog Shit wouldn't be able to follow his scent in the rain.

* * *

><p>Everyone was all smiles when he came to a sliding stop near the entrance of his Pack and Den. That was, until they saw her limp body and the bruise marking her temple. In his Den and alone, he quickly stripped her of those odd clothes she always wore.<p>

He wasn't going to leave her in wet clothes.

What he really liked seeing was Kagome in the smooth, leather hide shorts and the small furred top that covered her from shoulder to mid-stomach. He wasn't going to just leave her naked, not only would she probably get sick, she'd never talk to him again if he did something so stupid.

But he'd always imagined that when he saw Kagome naked...it would be under entirely different circumstances. Then again, he hadn't really taken the time to get a good look. Her health came before that. Soaked through her clothes and human, it wouldn't take much for her body to produce a cold.

He sat up straight when she shifted, heard the soft sigh that she gave.

"Hey, you alright?" He leaned half over her, pushing back her damp hair. He watched as her eyelids flickered up and then her eyes were moving over his face. "You alright?" He asked again.

She didn't answer right away, just kept staring up at him. She opened her mouth and then closed it again.

He smiled. "Must of hit your head a little hard, huh? Never known you to be speechless."

"What?"

He sighed. "Dog shit's got to be more careful." He wasn't placing the blame on her. If anything, Inuyasha should have been at the Well waiting for her.

She sat up slowly then, one hand cupping her head as her damp hair fell around her shoulders. She closed her eyes. "What are you talking about?"

From the way she held her head, he was sure it was aching. "Guess you fell down the well and bumped your head." He reached out and brushed back one side of her hair and then took her hand in his. With the other, he slid his thumb gently over the bruise. She was just...too quiet."You alright, Kagome?"

"I..." She stared at him, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't. She frowned and he recognized the confusion on her face. She shook her head, just staring at him with that look on her face before she finally spoke. The words that came from her lips were completely unexpected.

"...who are you?"

That didn't make sense. He knew Kagome would never forget him. But his eyes narrowed in suspicion. Maybe a little disbelief, too.

His hand tightened around hers as he realized...He didn't know why he said it. The words that came out of his mouth weren't hesitant in the least. He knew he shouldn't.

"Your Mate."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Kagome stared at the handsome Demon. The word "Demon" wasn't odd to her in the least. She was in a world full of Demon's. She had the power to destroy them and...

What?

She stared at him. Kouga. He was familiar. She _knew _face. She remembered riding in his arms, remembered his body carrying them through the forest countless times, holding her protectively. "My woman", that's what he often called her. But...The dull ache in her head intensified as she tried to remember...remember...she was missing something.

She let those fragments slide away. She just...She remembered Kouga. And she was his Mate? Staring up at him, those crystal like blue eyes, she realized that that handsome Wolf Demon was all hers. He wore his Demon heritage proudly. He didn't bother to hide it.

"Your Mate?" She echoed.

Kouga smiled. He took both of her hands in his and lifted them, kissing her knuckles. First one and then the other. "Yes, _my_Mate." His words rang with authority and possession. This Wolf Prince, her Wolf Prince, was beautiful.

"Kagome?"

She lifted her eyes again. "Y...yes?"

"Just wanted to make sure you were still with me." He kissed her knuckles again, his fingers caressing her palm.

"I just..." She bit her bottom lip. "I can't remember." Oh, she remembered him, she remembered this pack, but there was so much more that was behind a black wall in her mind. Whatever she was missing, she knew it was important. She looked away, her shoulders slumping. It was almost humiliating. She didn't know what to do, much less what to say. She couldn't do anything because she didn't know anything. She felt helpless. Completely and utterly helpless.

Tears pricked at the back of her eyes. She just couldn't help it.

Kouga sat up straight at the scent of those tears, though unfallen. "Hey, don't cry." He couldn't stand to see a woman cry. Kagome, those tears would probably kill him. His conscious pricked at him at the sight before he reminded himself that she wasn't crying because of him. No, she was crying because she didn't remember anything.

"Hey now." He shifted and pulled her into his arms, pulled her back up against his chest and wrapped his arms around her. Keeping her right where she belonged. He nuzzled her hair and then her cheek with his. "Do you remember that you're a Priestess...?"

He didn't want to ask that particular question, because that could possibly lead back to Inuyasha. He wasn't naive enough to pin point certain questions to rouse that memory, though, either. He just didn't want her accidentally bringing up that spiritual energy of hers and purifying anyone and scaring the shit out of herself in the process.

"Of course, why would I forget..." She started and then trailed off.

He tightened his arms around her. He could feel her body tensing, that sadness hunching her shoulders again. "Bump on the head, huh?" He teased softly and smiled when he felt the small, telltale laugh that she gave. "It's alright, Kagome. I remember everything...the first time I saw you...you're the reason we don't kill humans..."

Kouga stared down at Kagome, the peaceful expression on her face as she curled deeper into the thick furs across his bed. This was where she belonged and that thought would never change. He twirled a wayward strand of her hair around his finger, his other hand cupping his chin as he just watched her. He could do that all night long, just watch her sleep.

He should feel guilty...but he didn't.

The sight of her there, on his bed, the sight hit him hard. This was where she belonged, dammit. She was so trusting. And in a way, he'd betrayed that trust by not returning her to Inuyasha. It was instinct, pure and simple. He would have been a fool to pass up this opportunity and he was no fool.

Kagome wouldn't be happy when she remembered, but he couldn't take the words back. He'd never rebuke his claim on her. And when she remembered, she'd probably never talk to him again. Well, the sight of her like this would have to last him a lifetime.

He lifted his head as he heard footsteps near the entrance of the Cave. He knew it was Hakku and Ginta so he levered himself up slowly and quietly, carefully away from Kagome. He would have preferred to stay with Kagome, but he still had to hunt.

"Kouga..." Ginta said slowly when they were out of ear shot of the Cave. "Do you really think this is a good idea?"

Kouga didn't say anything. He ignored Ginta. He didn't want to hear it.


End file.
